Vaporizer manifold



y 20, 1941- R. w. WARRlCK 2,242,841

VAPORIZER MANIFOLD Filed July 10, 1940 I 5 .71. W Warrzbk gwuwwbom Patented May 20, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a vaporizing manifold for adapting an internal combustion engine to run on a less volatile fuel than gasoline, such for example as kerosene, fuel oil, etc.

While the invention may be useful in general application, it has been especially designed as a manifold construction for a two cylinder internal combustion engine which starts on gasoline and which may be switched to kerosene after the parts have been sufficiently heated to vaporize the kerosene or fuel oil, etc.

The invention is an improvement upon the vaporizing manifold forming the subject of my co-pending application Serial No. 313,126, filed January 9, 1940 now Patent Number 2,213,154.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a manifold construction in which the conduit for the combustible mixture passes through the exhaust manifold to be heated thereby, that portion of said conduit which lies within the manifold being developed into a heat exchanging device consisting of an outer shell in the path of flow of the hot combustion gases and receiving combustible mixture from the carburetor or mixing valve of the engine, and an inner shell of smaller diameter than the outer shell arranged within the latter axially parallel thereto and tangent to the inner surface thereof, being in metallic contact with the outer shell along their common line of tangency whereby heat imparted to the outer shell by the exhaust gases is transmitted directly by metallic conduction tothe inner shell, the latter being in communication with the chamber of the outer shell and with a tubular connection to the intake valve chamber of the engine, whereby the combustible mixture passes serially through the chamber of the outer shell and through the inner shell, the column of combustible mixture being thus heated on both sides in the course of its passage through said heat exchanging device resulting in the thorough and quick vaporization of the fuel constituent of said mixture within the confines of the exhaust manifold.

Another object of the invention is to combine the quick heat imparting attributes of the heat exchanging device with a smooth tubular member fitting into a bore in the cast head portion of the engine which is customarily water jacketed, and touching only the high spots thereof, whereby the heat of the combustible mixture is conserved in said tubular portion and not dissipated into the surrounding water jacketed head.

Other objects of the invention will appear as Figure 4 is a horizontal section through the manifold construction.

Referring now in detail to the several figures, the engine herein shown and which is designated in general by the reference character I, is of the two cylinder horizontal type standard with certain tractors, comprising cylinders 2, pistons 3, water jacket 6, and water jacketed head 5. As shown in Figure 2, the intake valves 6 of each cylinder are adjacent, communicating with a common valve chamber 1 having the cast passage 8 opening in the plane face 9 of the head 5. The exhaust valves I!) are relatively remotely situated, each opening by way of an individual exhaust passage H in the plane face 9 of the common cylinder head 5.

The manifold construction which forms the subject of this application has a lower plane face l2 cooperating with the face 9 of the cylinder head in gas-tight relation and being suitably bolted to the cylinder head.

Referring to Figures 1 and 4, it will be seen that the exhaust manifold comprises a hollow casting 13 having a pair of spaced exhaust ports M and 15 opening through its lower side and registering with the exhaust passages H. It is also provided with a mixture inlet port I6 opening in the front plate face I! and adapted to register with a mixture intake pipe l8 leading from a carburetor or mixing valve and which is suitably secured to the face I! of the manifold. Said manifold is also provided with an exhaust outlet passage iii to which the exhaust pipe of the engine is adapted to be secured.

The combustible mixture conduit comprises a tubular member 2!] which in the arrangement shown extends vertically, passing through the lower wall of the exhaust manifold and having its lower portion extending through the cast bore tween the tubular member 20 and the wall of the passage 8 of the cylinder head 5, reducing dissipation of heat from, the tubular member 20 to the water jacketed cylinder head to a minimum.

The upper end 23 of the tubular member 26 is surrounded by a shell 24 of larger diameter than the tubular member 23 having preferably a closed top 25 which also preferably forms a closed top for the tubular member 23, and having a bottom 26 through which the tubular member extends into said shell. The top 25 and bottom 26 may be portions of the corresponding walls of the exhaust manifold casting.

A tubular member 2'! is suitably connected at its outer end to the edge walls of the inlet port 1 6 of the exhaust manifold casting, and opens at its inner end 28 tangentially into the shell 24.

The portion 23 of the tubular member 28 which lies within the shell 24 is tangential to the inner surface of said shell on that sidewhich lies adjacent the exhaust passage l9 and is in intimate metallic thermal contact with said shell throughout the common line of tangency 29. The interior of the tubular member 29 communicates with the chamber within the shell 24 defined between said shell and the portion 23 of said tubular member which lies within said shell, by means of a port 30 adjacent the line of t-angency 29. The end 28 of the tubular member 2! opens into the shell 24 at a point opposite the port 39.

The shell 24 is arranged in the exhaust mani fold casting between the exhaust ports is and l 5 and is swept by the exhaust gases issuing from both of these ports and it is particularly contacted by the merging streams of the exhaust gases in the region of the line of tangency 29. The shell is thus heated on both sides, with a concentration of heat in the region of the line of metallic contact between the shell 2t and the shell-enclosed portion 23 of the tubular member 20 so that the portion 23 is also intensely the incoming atomized mixture is set into a cen trifugal whirl, being densified against the wall of the shell 23 and in a column of progressively diminishing thickness thus absorbing heat both from the inner and outer walls of the shell chamber to an optimum degree, vaporizing the atomized particles of kerosene and thoroughly mixing them with the air in which they are entrained. Then as the mixture passes through the port 39 and descends through the upper portion 23 of the tubular member 29 it is still further heated by the heated wall of the portion 23, and the heat is conserved during its passage downward through the tubular member 20 as far as the valve chamber I.

It is old in the art to equip an engine, of the type described, with an exhaust manifold having a plain tubular combustible mixture conduit, cast integrally therewith and directly connected to the cast passage 8 in the cylinder head. Such engines are started upon gasoline and switched to kerosene later when the parts become well heated. It is not practicable to change to kerosene until the water in the head jacket becomes hot. This necessitates running upon the more volatile fuel for quite a period after start- 7 ing. Furthermore, the Walls of the cast combustible mixture conduit and the passage 8 are inherently rough and retard the velocity of the skin layer of the mixture column so that some of the atomized kerosene settles out of the air in which it is entrained, against said walls, going into the engine improperly mixed, causing loss in economy and efficiency and giving rise to carbon troubles.

With the manifold construction of the present invention, the walls of the combustible mixture conduit are quickly heated; the maximum of heat is quickly imparted to the mixture column; and the heat is so conserved as to eliminate the water temperature in the cylinder head as a factor affecting vaporization. Consequently, it is practicable to switch to kerosene almost immediately after starting. Moreover, as the walls of the .combustible mixture conduit are smooth, being preferabl'y of drawn tubing, there will be no excessive skin friction during normal running with kerosene, therefore there will be no settling out of the atomized kerosene particles and the mixture of fuel vapor and air will enter the engine in perfectly uniformly mixed state, resulting in greater elficiency and economy .and in cleaner combustion.

While I have in the above discussion disclosed what I believe to be the preferred and most practicable form of my invention, it will be understood to those skilled in the art that the illustrated embodiment of the invention is by way of example and not to be construed as limiting the invention defined in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Manifold construction for internal combustion engine comprising an exhaust manifold having an exhaust gas inlet and outlet, a combustible mixture conduit passing through said exhaust manifold comprising anterior and posterior tubu ar portions and an intermediate shell, said shell being of larger diameter than said tubular portions and being positioned between said inlet and outlet to be swept by the hot exhaust gases, said anterior portion opening into said shell tangentially, and said posterior portion extending into said shell axially parallel thereto internally tangent thereto and in metallic contact therewith along its line of tangency, and being laterally in communication with said shell chamber.

2. Manifold construction for internal combustion engine comprising an exhaust manifold having an exhaust gas inlet and outlet, a combustible mixture conduit passing through said exhaust manifold comprising anterior and posterior tubular portions and an intermediate shell, said. shell being of larger diameter than said tubular portions and being positioned between said inlet and outlet to be swept by the hot exhaust gases passing through said manifold, said anterior portion opening into said shell tangentially, and said posterior portion extending into said shell axially parallel thereto, internally tangent thereto on the side adjacent said outlet and in metallic contact therewith along its line of tangency and being laterally in communication with the shell chamber, the opening of said anterior portion with said shell being substantially opposite said region of tangency.

3. Manifold construction as claimed in claim 1, said shell bridging the space between the upper and lower walls of said manifold whereby said Walls constitute the top and bottom closures of said shell.

4. In an internal combustion engine of that type including a shell of horizontal cylinders having adjacent intake valves supplied from a common valve chamber in a water jacketed head having a cast vertical intake passage in said head communicating with said valve chamber adapted to register with a combustible mixture conduit in a manifold, and having independent exhaust passages in said head adapted to register with exhaust ports in said manifold, a manifold construction for such an engine comprising an exhaust manifold having spaced exhaust gas inlets and an exhaust gas outlet, a combustible mixture conduit passing through said exhaust manifold comprising anterior and posterior tubular portions and an intermediate shell, said shell being of larger diameter than said tubular portions and positioned between said spaced exhaust inlets to be swept by the hot exhaust gases from both said inlets, said anterior portion opening into said shell tangentially, said posterior portion extending into said shell axially parallel thereto, internally tangent thereto, and in metallic contact therewith along its line of tangency, and being in lateral communication with the shell chamber on the opposite side of said line of tangency to the point at which said anterior portion opens into said shell, said posterior portion being adapted to extend into said vertical intake passage to a point adjacent said valve chamber, touching only the high spots of the wall of said passage inherent in the nature of its cast construction.

RAY W. WARRICK. 

